[draw in one’s horns] See: PULL IN ONE’S HORNS.
[draw interest]{v. phr.} To earn interest on invested capital. •/My savings account draws 4.5% interest./
[draw lots]{v. phr.} To select at random from a series in order to determine precedents or apportionment. •/The refugees to be evacuated drew lots on who would get a place on the first airplane out of the besieged city./
[draw near]{v. phr.} To approach; come near. •/The time is drawing near when this century will end and the next will begin./
[draw off]{v. phr.} To drain away; deflect. •/A light flanking attack was made in order to draw off the enemy’s fire./
[draw on]{v. phr.} 1. To arrive; approach. •/As midnight drew on, the New Year’s Eve party grew louder and louder./ 2. To secure funds from a bank or person. •/Jack kept drawing on his bank account so much that several of his checks bounced./
[draw out]{v. phr.} 1. To take out; remove. •/Johnny drew a dollar out of the bank to buy his mother a present./ •/The hunter drew out his gun and shot the snake./ 2. To make (a person) talk or tell something. •/Jimmy was bashful but Mrs. Wilson drew him out by asking him about baseball./ 3. To make come out; bring out. •/The bell of the ice-cream truck drew the children out of the houses./ •/Mary was drawn out of her silence by Billy’s jokes./ 4. To make longer or too long; stretch. •/The Smiths drew out their vacation at the beach an extra week./ •/It was a long drawn out meeting because everybody tried to talk at once./ •/Mary and her mother drew out their goodbyes so long at the bus station that Mary almost missed the bus./
[draw the fire of] See: DRAW OFF.
[draw the line] See: DRAW A LINE.
[draw to a close]{v. phr.} To finish; terminate; come to an end. •/The meeting drew to a close around midnight./
[draw up]{v.} 1. To write (something) in its correct form; put in writing. •/The rich man had his lawyers draw up his will so that each of his children would receive part of his money when he died./ 2. To plan or prepare; begin to write out. •/The two countries drew up a peace treaty after the war ended./ •/Plans are being drawn up for a new school next year./ Compare: WRITE UP. 3. To hold yourself straight or stiffly, especially because you are proud or angry. •/When we said that Mary was getting fat, she drew herself up angrily and walked out of the room./ 4. To stop or come to a stop. •/The cowboy drew up his horse at the top of the hill./ •/A big black car drew up in front of the house./ Syn.: PULL UP.
[dread] See: BURNT CHILD DREADS THE FIRE.
[dream of]{v.} To think about seriously; think about with the idea of really doing; consider seriously. — Usually used with a negative. •/I wouldn’t dream of wearing shorts to church./
[dressing down]{n.}, {informal} A scolding. •/The sergeant gave the soldier a good dressing down because his shoes were not shined./
[dress a window] See: WINDOW DRESSING.
[dress like a million dollars] See: BEST BIB AND TUCKER.
[dress up]{v.} 1a. To put on best or special clothes. •/Billy hated being dressed up and took off his best suit as soon as he got home from church./ 1b. To put on a costume for fun or clothes for a part in a play. •/Mary was dressed up to play Cinderella in her school play./ 2. To make (something) look different; make (something) seem better or more important. •/A fresh coat of paint will dress up the old bicycle very much./ •/Tommy dressed up the story of what he did on vacation and made it seem twice as interesting as it was./
[dressed fit to kill] See: BEST BIB AND TUCKER.
[dressed like a peacock] See: BEST BIB AND TUCKER.
[dribs and drabs]{n. phr.} Portions; small bits. •/John paid Oliver back what he owed him in dribs and drabs./
[drift off]{v. phr.} 1. To fall asleep, •/He kept nodding and drifting off to sleep while the lecturer was speaking./ 2. To depart; leave gradually. •/One by one, the sailboats drifted off over the horizon./
[drink down]{v. phr.} To drink in one gulp; swallow entirely. •/Steve was so thirsty that he drank down six glasses of orange juice in rapid succession./
[drink in]{v. phr.} To absorb with great interest. •/The tourists stood on the beach drinking in the wonderful Hawaiian sunset./
[drink like a fish]{v. phr.} To drink (alcoholic beverages) in great quantities; to be addicted to alcohol. •/John is a nice guy but, unfortunately, he drinks like a fish./
[drink up]{v. phr.} To finish drinking; empty one’s glass. •/"Drink up that cough syrup," the nurse said, "and never mind the taste,"/
[drive] See: LINE DRIVE.
[drive a bargain]{v. phr.} 1. To buy or sell at a good price; succeed in a trade or deal. •/Tom’s collie is a champion; it should be easy for Tom to drive a bargain when he sells her puppies./ •/Father drove a hard bargain with the real estate agent when we bought our new house./ 2. To make an agreement that is better for you than for the other person; make an agreement to your advantage. •/The French drove a hard bargain in demanding that Germany pay fully for World War I damages./
[drive a hard bargain] See: DRIVE A BARGAIN.
[drive at]{v.} To try or want to say; mean. — Used in the present participle. •/John did not understand what the coach was driving at./ •/He had been talking for half an hour before anyone realized what he was driving at./
[drive home]{v. phr.} To argue convincingly; make a strong point. •/The doctor’s convincing arguments and explanation of his X-ray pictures drove home the point to Max that he needed surgery./
[drive-in]{adj.}/{n.} A kind of movie theater, fast food restaurant, or church, where the customers, spectators, or worshippers do not leave their automobiles but are served the food inside their cars, can watch a motion picture from inside their cars, or can participate in a religious service in their cars. •/Let’s not waste time on the road; let’s just eat at the next drive-in restaurant./ •/There is a drive-in theater not far from where we live./ •/Max and Hilde go to a drive-in church every Sunday./
[drive like Jehu]{v. phr.}, {informal} To drive very fast, carelessly or recklessly. •/When Joe is late for work, he drives like Jehu./
[drive one ape], [bananas], [crazy], [mad] or [nuts] {v. phr.}, {informal} To irritate, frustrate, or tickle someone’s fancy so badly that they think they are going insane. •/"Stop teasing me, Mary," John said. "You are driving me nuts."/ •/"You are driving me bananas with all your crazy riddles," Steve said./
[drive one round the bend]{v. phr.}, {informal} To upset someone so much that they think they are going crazy. •/"Slow down, please," Miss Jones cried. "You are driving me around the bend!"/ Contrast: DRIVE ONE APE, BANANAS, ETC.
[driver] See: BACKSEAT DRIVER.
[drive to the wall]{v. phr.} To defeat someone completely; to ruin someone. •/Poor Uncle Jack was driven to the wall by his angry creditors when his business failed./ Compare: GO TO THE WALL.
[drive someone bananas] or [drive someone nuts] or [drive someone ape] {v. phr.}, {slang} {informal} To excite someone to the point that he or she goes out of his or her mind; to drive someone crazy. •/You’re driving me bananas/nuts with that kind of talk!]
[drop] See: AT THE DROP OF A HAT, BOTTOM DROP OUT, JAW DROP or JAW DROP A MILE.
[drop a line]{v. phr.} To write someone a short letter or note. •/Please drop me a line when you get to Paris; I’d like to know that you’ve arrived safely./
[drop back]{v.} To move or step backwards; retreat. •/The soldiers dropped back before the enemy’s attack./ •/The quarterback dropped back to pass the football./ Compare: DRAW BACK, FADE BACK, FALL BACK.
[drop by] or [stop by] {v.} 1. or [drop around] To make a short or unplanned visit; go on a call or errand; stop at someone’s home. •/Drop by any time you’re in town./ •/Mv sister dropped around last night./ •/Don’t forget to stop by at the gas station./ Syn.: DROP IN. 2. or [drop into] To stop (somewhere) for a short visit or a short time. •/We dropped by the club to see if Bill was there, but he wasn’t./ •/I dropped into the drugstore for some toothpaste and a magazine./
[drop by the wayside] See: FALL BY THE WAYSIDE.
[drop dead]{v.}, {slang} To go away or be quiet; stop bothering someone. — Usually used as a command, •/"Drop dead!" Bill told his little sister when she kept begging to help him build his model airplane./ •/When Sally bumped into Kate’s desk and spilled ink for the fifth time, Kate told her to drop dead./ Compare: BEAT IT, GET LOST.
[drop in]{v.} To make a short or unplanned visit; pay a call. — Often used with "on". •/We were just sitting down to dinner when Uncle Willie dropped in./ •/The Smiths dropped in on some old friends on their vacation trip to New York./ Syn.: DROP BY, RUN IN(2).
[drop in the bucket]{n. phr.} A relatively small amount; a small part of the whole. •/Our university needs several million dollars for its building renovation project; $50,000 is a mere drop in the bucket./
[drop name]{v. phr.} To impress people by mentioning famous names. •/He likes to pretend he’s important by dropping a lot of names./
[drop off]{v.} 1. To take (someone or something) part of the way you are going. •/Joe asked Mrs. Jones to drop him off at the library on her way downtown./ 2. To go to sleep. •/Jimmy was thinking of his birthday party as he dropped off to sleep./ 3. To die. •/The patient dropped off in his sleep./ 4. or [fall off] To become less. •/Business picked up in the stores during December, but dropped off again after Christmas./ Contrast PICK UP(14).
[dropout]{n.} Someone who did not finish school, high school and college primarily. •/Tim is having a hard time getting a better job as he was a high-school dropout./ •/Jack never got his B.A. as he became a college dropout./
[drop out]{v.} To stop attending; quit; stop; leave. •/In the middle of the race, Joe got a blister on his foot and had to drop out./ •/Teenagers who drop out of high school have trouble finding jobs./
[drown one’s sorrows] or [drown one’s troubles] {v. phr.}, {informal} To drink liquor to try to forget something unhappy. •/When his wife was killed in an auto accident, Mr. Green tried to drown his sorrows in whiskey./ •/When Fred lost his job and had to give up his new car, he tried to drown his troubles at the nearest tavern./
[drown one’s troubles] See: DROWN ONE’S SORROWS.
[drown out]{v.} To make so much noise that it is impossible to hear (some other sound). •/The children’s shouts drowned out the music./ •/The actor’s words were drowned out by applause./
[drum up]{v.} 1. To get by trying or asking again and again; attract or encourage by continued effort. •/The car dealer tried to drum up business by advertising low prices./ 2. To invent. •/I will drum up an excuse for coming to see you next week./ Syn.: MAKE UP(2), THINK UP.
[dry] See: CUT AND DRIED, HIGH AND DRY.
[dry behind the ears]{adj. phr.}, {informal} Experienced; knowing how to do something. Usually used in the negative. •/John had just started working for the company, and was not dry behind the ears yet./ Compare: KNOW ONE’S WAY AROUND. Contrast: WET BEHIND THE EARS.
[dry out]{v. phr.} To cure an alcoholic. •/A longtime alcoholic. Uncle Steve is now in the hospital getting dried out./
